Improvement in sewing-mach ines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. W. GROTE.

Sewing Machine.

Patentedl Ma)l 5, 1863.

2A Sheets--Sh-eet 2. F. W. GROTE.

Sewing Machine. No. 38,447. Patented Mays, 1863.

Fig. 1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDlflR-ICK V. GROTEe OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T() HIMSELF ANDCLAUS O. TIETJEN, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SVEWING-MACHlNES.

Spectication forming part. of Letters Patent No. 38,447, dated May 5,1863.

To all whom it may concern 13e it known that I, FREDERICK W. GROTE, ot'the city, county, and State otNew York, have invented certain new anduseful- Improvements in Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ot' thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a front view, partly in' section,of a sewing-machine constructed according to the invention and embracingthef several improvements., Fig. 2 is a top view of the saine. Fig. 3 isa horizontal sectional view o't a portion ofthe feed mechanism. Fig. 4is a vertical sectional view of portions ofthe said mechanism. Fig. 5 isa vertical ,section ot a portionefthe stationary arm or bed on which thework is performed, and ot' the devices for extending the loops ot' theneedle-thread and passing the locking thread through them. Fig. (i is ahorizontal sectional view corresponding with Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sideview of one ot' the loop-extending devices. Fig. Sis a plan ot' thesame. Fig. 9 is an elevation ot the needle-bar and feed-wheel bar atright angles to Fig. 101s a horizonal section ot' the same. Fig. llis aview ot' the take-up at right angles to Fiff. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thc severalfigures.

This invention consists in certain novel devices for extending the loopsof the upper or needle thread on the under side or back ofthe cloth orother material to be sewed, and carrying the under or locking threadthrough them; also, in aJ novel construction and arrangement ofthefeeding apparatus for feeding the cloth or other material iu alldirec-Ations, and in a novel mode ofapplying the needle in combination withsuch feeding apparatus to keep the planes ot' revolution otl thefeed-wheel always at the same distance from theline of motion of theneedle.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation. A B C C '1s theframing ofthe machine, consisting of a long square arm, A, whichconstitutes the bed on which the cloth or other material is supported inthe sewing operation an upper arm, B, which contains the guides for theneedle-bar E,and carries the needle-operating lever D, the shaft F, andall the upper works ofthe machine and feet() C. Theneedle-operatinglever is ofcurved form and works on a t'ulcrum-pin, a,secured in the arm B. Its shorterarm is connected by a sliding piece, b,and pill o With the needle-arm, and its lower ar'm has in its lower parta slot, d, which receives a crank-Wrist, e, carried by the rotatinglshaft F, which works in a bearing in the lower part ofthe arm B. Thiscrank gives the lever the necessary movement to operate the needle.

Tile devices i'or extending the loops of the upper or needle thread andVpassing the lower or locking thread through them consist ot apeculiarlyconstructed hollow upright open cylinder, G, (see Figs. 1, 5,and 6,) having an oscillating motion about its axis, a stationary hookedplate, H, arranged within and close to the bottom ot' the saidcylinder,and a spool, I, which supplies the locking-thread placed in an opencylindrical case, J, which is arranged loosely within the cylinder G andsupported upon the plate H, the Whole being arranged within a suitablecavity, ff, in the arm or bed Ain such a position that the needle n,passing through the holej in the platej, whichcovers, the cavityj', mayenter between the cylinder Gr and spool-case J. The cylinder G isfurnished at its bottom with a concentric hollow shaft or sleeve,G,which is bored to h`t easily upon the stationary uprightv pin, g, towhich the stationary plateHis secured. This sleeve h'as upon. it apinion, K, which gears with a toothed rack, L', on a horizontal bar, L,which is arranged and titted to slide longitudinally within the arm orbed A, and which derives a longitudinal movement from the needle-operating lever D by being furnished with a pin, It, which protrudes througha slot, t', in the front of the arm or bed B and enters the slot l inthe lever D. The longitudinal movement of this bar L causes its rack Llso to act upon the pinion l as to produce an oscillating movement ot thecylinder G about its axis once back and forth to the extent of aboutseven-eights ota com plete revolution for every downward and upwardstroke of the needle. The hollow cylinder G has in one part ot' itscircumference an opening, 12, and one side ot' this opening ischami'ered ot'f externally to a tween the cylinder and the spool-case,and

thereby to insure its catching the needlethread for the extension oftheloop.

Some distancelbehindthe point 14 there is on the exterior of the saidcylinder an inclined shoulder, 13, for catchingthe loop and causing oneportion of it to pass over the top ofthe saideylinder and of thespool-case J and spool I, and another portion ot' it to pass under thespool-case; and in order to permit this there is an opening, 15 16, inthe bottom of the said cylinder close to its inner periphery for thepassage of the needle.v The general' form ofthe stationary plate H isthat otacirele, somewhat smaller -than and concentric with the interiorof the cylinder G, except that it has projecting from its periphery twoteeth,

17 18, something like saw-teeth, and a recess,

19, in front of the tooth 17, which is so situated that the needlepassesdown just in front ofit. rlhe tooth 18, which is a short distancebehindthe tooth 17, has its point turned slightly downward; but the tooth 17conforms to the general surface of the plate H. Y

vThe spool I is made of metal and is arranged to turn freely within thecase J, in which it is secured by a nut,j, fitted to a screw-thread on acentral pin, k, which is firmly secured in the bottom of the case, andthe said spool has friction produced upon it. to prevent thelockingthread unwinding from it too freely bymeans ot' a spring, l,which is applied under the said nut within a central cavity provided inthe said case, thesaid spring bearingupon atlange, m, provided at thebottom of the said cavity. The locking-thread (represented in bluecolor) passes from the said spool through two or more holes, a n, in oneside ot' the spool-case J, being laced in and ont through the saidopenings to produce friction upon it. 'lh'e case J is made of anexternal diameter` sufficiently smaller than the internal diameter ot'the cylinder G to allow plenty ofroom between them i'or the passage ofthe needle and the loop oi" the needle thread. 'lhe said case rests onthe stationary plate H, and in order that it may have the smallestpracticable bearing thereon it is made with two small rounded bases,19p, on its bottom. To keep the said ease out of contact with the needle,there is a small iixed guard-bar, q, attached to the. needle-platej, andentering the cylinder G between the said The operation of the cylinder Gand its contained parts in forming the stitch is as follows: \Vhile theneedle is descending the cylinder G turns in the opposite direction tothat of the arrow shown near itin Figs. 6 and S, bringing thepointlfijust beyond the needle, and as the needle rises the saidcylinder turns in the direction indicated by the arrow. As t-he needlecylinder and said ease.

commences its upward movement and the c vlindex` G its movement in thedirection of the arrow, the portion of the thread on that side of theneedle which is farthest from the center ot' the cylinder is left slack,and the point 14 enters betweenit and th atportion of the thread, and asthe movements ofthe needle and cylinder continue the shoulder 13 catchesthe said portion ofthe needle-thread and extends itin the form of aloop, as shown in Fig. 6, where, aswell as in Figs. 1, 2, and 1l, theneedlethread is shown in red color, after which the further-continuedmovement of the cylinder G carries the upper part of the so-extendedloop over the top of the spool-case and spool, and the lower portion ot'the said loop under the spool-case, thelatter portion entering thecylinder through the openings 15 16, and the loop being detained closeto its neel: at one side ot' the stationary plate H by means of thetooth 18 until the whole loop has passed the axis ot the spool-ease,when it has arrived in a position to pass over the tooth 17 and escapefrom the said plate, after which it is easily drawn over the rest of andentirely oft' the spool-case, which, having now passed through the loopot' the needle-thread, has left the locking-thread encircled by theneedle-thread. The slack ot' the loop is.drawn up by the take-up, whichwill be presently described. The stitch thus made is of thesamecharacter as that made by the shuttle sewing-machine.

rEhe feeding device is what is known asa top wheel,7 M, and the wholeofthe feeding mechanisln is above the cloth or other material to besewed. The wheel M, having a roughened made with an offset at i', (seeFig. 9,) to bring` the wheel on one side ot' the axis of the said bar,as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and so enable the needle to be broughtdirectly in line with the axis ofthe said bar N by giving the lower partofthe needle-bar a proper bend or offset,

as shown at s in the said figures and in Fig.

1, and thereby cause the feed-wheelI to be always elose to the needle,however the direction of its planes ot' revolution may be varied byturning the bar N. rlhe feed-wheel is pressed down upon the cloth bymeans of a spring, 27, applied at the upper part of the bar N, thepressure being regulated by a. nut, 28, fitted to a screw-thread on thebar, and thel said bar is raised up to raise the feed-,wheel and. permitthe introduction of the cloth under it, and permit the removal oradjustment ot' the same by means ot' a lever, N', attached to the bar Nby a pin, t, the said lever having a cam-like end, which is brought intoaction on the top of the upper guide, n, by raising the other end of thesaid lever. The bar N is secured to keep the planes of revolution of thefeed-Wheel in such direction as may be desired, and prevented fromturning to change the direction of the feed until desired to do so bymeans of a pin, c, which is firmly secured in the said bar, and whichenters any one of a series ot' notches, 2() 20, (see Figs. l and 3,) inthe top of the guide u. To change the direction of the feed, the bar Eis raised by the lever N high enough to withdraw the pin a from thenotches 20 20, then turned to bring the said pin over another notch, andafterward allowed to descend.

The axle w, to which the feed-wheel is firmly secured, is tted to turnfreely in a bearing in the lower-part ot' the feed-bar N, and thefeedwheel is operated to produce thc feed b v means of a lever, P, whichhas one extremity constructed to forni a double-pointed dog, x, as shownin Fig. 4, one ot' the points of the said dog entering a notch in acollar, xi, whichtis loose on the axle w ot the feed-wheel, and theother entering a notch in a shoe, y', which is litted in the interior ofthe rim y of the feed- Y wheel. By raising the outer end ot the lever Pits dog .r is caused to press the shoe y against the rim ot' the wheel,and. so turn the wheel in the direction of the arrow shown upon it inFig. 4, and by depressing the said end of the lever it is caused toielease the dog from the rim and move it upward thereon withoutmovingthe wheel.

The collar x has attacned to it a spring, z, which presses against acorner on the lever P in such manner as to support the weight ofthe saidlever and at the same time exert a tendency to keep the dog frompressing against the shoe y' when not desired to press against it. rlhecollar shoe y,`and lever P are kept in place by means of a plate, M',(see Fig. 9,) which is fitted loosely7 both to the axle w and to theinterior ofthe rim t, and which is kept in place by being arrangedbetween the feedwheel and the bar N. 'elhe lever I works through anopening in this plate. The said lever has its movement, by whichthefeed-wheel is operated, produced by being connected by a rod, Q, withthe lower arm, R', ot' an elbowlever, R R', which is pivoted tothe bar Nby a pin, 21,'and the upper arm, R, of which is partly received within avertical slot in the said bar. A spring, 22, is applied within the slotto the upper arm, R, in such manneras to tend to throw it out from thebar N; but the said arm is pressed inward every time the needle-bar Ndescends by Ameans ot' a wiper, 23, attached to the needle and partlysurrounding the bar N, andby this means the lower arm, R', rod Q, andlever P are raised and the feedwheel iurned.- The length of feed isregulated by a screw, 24, which is screwed through the said lever R R tocome in contact with the bottom of the slot in the bar N, and therebyregulate the distance to which the arm R of the said lever is forced out.bythe spring 22;' or, in-

stead of the length of feed being regulated in this way, it may beregulated. by shifting the connection of' the rod Q along the arm 1t.

S is the take-up lever, working.on a fixed pin, 25, which secures it tothe front ot' the arm B, and having an eye, 30, atits extremity, throughwhich the needle-thread is rove after passing through an eye, 2li, inthehead ot' the needle-bar E, and through a stationary eye, 29, securedin the arm B. rlhe arrangement ofthe thread in the take-up is shown bestin Fig. 1], which is a view ot' it at right angles to Figa-1, andit.will be there seen that the thread is trebled between the eye 26 ofthe needle-bar E and the stationary eye 29. The lever S has applied toit a spring, 3l, which only requires to be strong enough to hold it upwhen unsupported by the needle-operating lever D. The said lever isdrawn down by the action ot' the cylinder G in the extension otthc loopsofthe needle-thread, and is raised up to draw back the slack of the loopthrough the cloth by the action upon it of a pin or projection, 32, onthe back of the needle-operating lever D, and owing to the treblingofthe needle-thread between the eyes 26 and 29 a considerable quantityof thread is kept in reserve between the top ofthe needle-bar and theeye of the needle, and the depression of the lever S is caused to yieldup this thread as freely as required to permit the extension ot' theloop on the under side of the cloth by the action ot'v the cylinder G,and the raising of the said lcver is caused to draw back the said threadas rapidly as required to draw back the slack of the loop, the movementof the thread through the cloth permitted and produced by the said leverbeing three times :s great and as quick as the movement of the eye 30 atthe end ot' the lever. The large size to which the loop requires 'ro beextended, owing to the large size of the spool I, renders such anfovement ofthe thread, as is above described, very desirable. Byusing alarge spool, I, the necessity of frequently rewinding the thread isobviated, and this is one ofthe advantages ofthe within-describedconstruction and arrangement ot the devices for extending the loops ofthe needle-thread and passing the locking-thread vthrough them.

VTo obtain as great as practicable a movement of the lever S, the saidlever is made with a projection, 33, on its under side for the pin 32 onthe needle-operating lever to act upon, and the face ot'thisrprojection, upon which the said piu 32 acts, is tangential to acircle described from the t'ulcrum-pin 25, so.

that in the movement of the pin 32 upon the said surface in raising thelever S, its distance from the fulcruxn-pin 25 increases very little,and hence the movement of the end ot' the lever becomes very littleslower as it proceeds, as would be the case it' the surface on which thepin 32 acted were radial or nearly so with the fulcrum-pin.

Above the lever S there is a .fixed stop, 34, attached to the arm B toprevent the said lever from being raised bythe spring 31 higher than isnecessary while the needle-operating lever is descending.

The device for producing and regulating the tension on the needle-threadis shown in Fig. 1. The spool T which supplies the said thread is placedupon a. spindle, U, and secured firmly against a fixed collar, 3S, uponthe lower part ofthe said spindle by means of a nut, 35, working on ascrew-thread on the upper part thereof. The lower end of the saidspindle is fitted intoa bearing in a piston, V, which tits to acylindrical hole in the top of the arm B, and theupper end of the saidspindle is kept in place by the point of a center-screw, 3G, whichscrews through the head of a gooseneck standard, \V, secured on the topof the arm B. Under the piston V there is applied within thesamecylindrieal holen spiral spring, S7, which presses the said pistonupward againstl the collar 38, and produces friction between the saidpiston and collar, and this vfriction is nia-de greater or less hyscrewing down the screw 36 more or less, and so proscrewed into the topof the arm B and a piston, Y, fitted easilyinto the top thereof. The cuphas ah'ole,40, drilled transversely through it for the thread to passthrough, and the piston has attached to its lower end a piece of woolencloth, sponge, or other material which will hold a small quantity of oiland which is pressed down upon the thread hy the weight ofthe piston, sothat the thread in passing' through the cup may have it surface oiled.The thread may he wound partly or `wholly round the cup, which may thusbe made a means ofproducing friction upon it by turning it upon its axisto cause the thread to he wound upon it more or less.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination ot' the cylinder G, the spool-case J, spool I, andstationary plate H, the whole constructed and arranged to operatesubstantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. The construction, combination, and arrangement of the bar N, carryingthe feedwheel and the needle-bar E, substantially as herein specified,whereby the feed-wheel is enabled to be adjusted around the needle tofeed in various directions, and always kept close to the needle.

3. Operating the feed-whecl by means of a dog-levend?, applied to thesaid Wheel, a lever, R R', attached to the bar N, which carries thefeed-Wheel and connected with the dog-lever P, and a wiper, 23, attachedto the needle-bar, the whole combined and arranged to operateSubstantially as herein specified.

F. NV. GROTE.

Witnesses z M. S. PARTRIDGE, DANIEL ROBERTSON.

